


The Consequence

by entropy_maximum (missjmelville)



Series: Supernatural ReverseBang [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angelcest, Angst, Flashbacks, M/M, Sibling Incest, slight dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-07
Updated: 2013-06-07
Packaged: 2017-12-14 05:33:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/833333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missjmelville/pseuds/entropy_maximum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hell is worse the second time around, with unwanted cell-mates and lots of issues to work out, everything is going to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Consider This A Warning

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://spn-reversebang.livejournal.com/profile)[**spn_reversebang**](http://spn-reversebang.livejournal.com/) 2011, based on [this art](http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/1508/darkprincess17either.png) by [](http://dark-princess17.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://dark-princess17.livejournal.com/)**dark_princess17** and also a sequel to my SPN_Reversebang fic of last year Stay With Me. Italics indicate flashbacks that take place after Stay With Me.

Lucifer couldn’t believe that he was back in his cage, how it was possible for a tiny little insignificant human like Sam Winchester to take control back of his body and do this. What was worse (in his opinion) was that he wasn’t alone this time, stuck in his tiny cell that barely fit him alone the first time with Michael and Sam and Adam. In the cage, he didn’t need a Vessel so he and Michael were pressed together closely, wings tangling while the two Winchesters huddled in a corner trying to get as far away from the bickering Archangels as possible.

When Sam’s body disappeared but his soul stuck around, a shining ball of light that chased away the darkness but left jagged shadows like wings curving around the ceiling, Lucifer decided that this was all Michael’s fault anyway. He’d always been the stickler for rules, had frowned on Lucifer and Gabriel’s relationship, so long ago now, had always done what Daddy said, a good little soldier.

The heat of the cage didn’t bother him anymore, hadn’t for a very long time but Michael and Adam, unaccustomed to the heat, tried to huddle closer to Lucifer who had learnt to cool himself significantly just to stop the blistering and burns that would appear after a few days. For the first few months, likely only minutes back on Earth and an eternity in Heaven, all he did was ignore his surroundings and think back to where everything went so wrong.

 

_After Gabriel had returned from his battle of the Gods, things in Heaven had slowly started to change, Father had created more Angels, small little fragile things with giant wings that moulted all over the place and enjoyed usurping Lucifer and Gabriel’s favourite spot in Joshua’s Garden. The baby Angels were just the beginning though, Purgatory was created and the Leviathans were removed from the Earth to make way for creatures that Lucifer felt were worse._

_It was rare these days for Lucifer and Gabriel to get moments alone, the days of lounging around in the Garden for hours alone just revelling in each other’s company were long gone. Michael was always hovering, nagging at Lucifer, luring Gabriel away or consigning them to babysitting duty. Lucifer had done the majority of raising Gabriel and he swore he’d never do it again, fledglings were so much work and he didn’t have the patience for it but Gabriel would light up with joy when it was his turn to watch a handful of fledglings._

_It had been so long since Lucifer had been able to make Gabriel smile like that._

 

Michael had had enough of Lucifer’s quiet brooding and Adam’s fearful wide eyes looking at him as if this was his entire fault. The boy thought the heat was unbearable, he thought he knew what pain was, Michael scoffed. Pain wasn’t the unbearable heat of hellfire; pain was millennia of watching your brother fall in love with someone else, being unable to take what you wanted and having it dangled in front of you at every turn.

Lucifer belonged to Michael and yet he had never seen it that way which only infuriated Michael more. Nevertheless, he had been a good son, he had held his tongue in check and his desire at bay and he’d done what was asked of him, even when it broke his heart. Now he was stuck here and the pain wasn’t the fire, no, it was that Lucifer was so close, and yet he could tell by the set of Lucifer’s shoulders, the curl of his wingtips that his thoughts were all of Gabriel. It made him furious that even now when it was he, Michael, older brother, protector, saviour, curled close to Lucifer that the other Archangel didn’t even give him a second thought.

Michael couldn’t take Lucifer’s silence anymore, he wanted something, anything to drown out the screams of the damned, he wanted a distraction that wasn’t staring at Sam’s soul or glaring at Adam just to watch him tremble. His skin ached where it was blistered and red raw, burning slowly but constantly layer by layer. His wings were singed and black at the tips and scraped painfully against the stone walls of their prison, Lucifer’s cage now his too.

‘It wasn’t supposed to be this way,’ he’d meant to sound angry, accusatory, but it fell flat, his voice rough and raspy from disuse and smoke inhalation. Hell may be typically portrayed as fire and brimstone but it was smoke and stone, red-hot metal and molten glass too.

Lucifer didn’t seem to be paying attention, his eyes were closed and his breathing shallow, and if Michael didn’t know better, he’d say he was sleeping but Archangels don’t sleep. Adam on the other hand, who’d been dozing fitfully, startled awake at the new sound and scrambled away when he realised he’d unconsciously pressed himself against Lucifer to keep cool.

‘You can’t blame me, brother,’ Lucifer replied softly without opening his eyes, ‘I gave you the chance to stop this, we didn’t have to fight, we didn’t have to fall’. He turned to look at Michael, eyes shining cold as ice, his Grace pressing so close to his skin just to keep him cold that it looked like it was straining to break free and return to Heaven.

Michael shifted, wings brushing agonizingly against the rough stone as he tried to still the instinctual response to flare them out like a warning sign in his anger.

‘If you’d stuck to the script, none of this would have happened, you’d be dead and I’d be in Heaven, just like Father wanted!’ The yell was deafeningly loud in their cramped space and momentarily drowned out all outside sounds.

‘Always what Father wanted. You know, Michael, I saw the way you looked at me and Gabriel, I saw the jealousy in your eyes, if you’d just thought about what _you_ wanted for one second, maybe we wouldn’t even be here!’ Lucifer’s wings trembled in suppressed rage and pulled tight against his back.

‘You and Gabriel were an abomination!’ Michael replied, every yell echoing louder and further. ‘It never mattered what I wanted, it never mattered what you and Gabriel wanted, it was wrong and I should have put a stop to it the moment I saw you look at Gabriel with more than just affection in your eyes!’

‘You couldn’t have stopped me even if you tried, that’s your problem Michael, you would have run to daddy and demanded he do something about it but seeing as you’re so sure that Father knows all that Father planned everything, then by your reasoning, Gabriel and I were practically given Father’s permission!’ Lucifer’s eyes glared daggers at Michael’s blistered and burnt face.

Michael blinked and seemed to think things over for a second before his anger drained out of him and he sagged tiredly against the wall at his back. ‘Maybe you’re right,’ he replied but said no more. Lucifer was shocked to say the least by Michael’s sudden quiet acceptance, he wanted to yell some more, he wanted to break Michael down bit by bit, feather by feather and then rebuild him as he saw fit. He couldn’t do that now.

Adam trembled alone in his corner and wished he could escape clinging to the back of Sam’s soul that continued to hang in the air like a light globe but so much brighter.


	2. Accidents Bring the House Down

_It didn’t happen suddenly, it happened slowly, like a disease festering for years unknown until the symptoms started to emerge and by then it was too late. Humanity. Humanity was the disease that felled Lucifer. Every time he looked down at them from Heaven, he couldn’t help but sneer in disgust. They were filthy and they weren’t even as smart as the Leviathans. They rolled in the mud and copulated constantly, hundreds became thousands and thousands became millions, they were a plague and they needed to be removed.  
  
No one else seemed to see what Lucifer did; when he looked down on them, he saw a disease destroying the planet bit by bit, life by life. Michael endured Lucifer’s complaints, smiled fondly and tried to make him see, these were Father’s greatest creations, these were special. That was when the arguments had started.  
  
‘I should have known when Father wanted the Leviathans out of the way that he was going to populate the world with something lesser, something weaker, they’re horrible, look at them, scurrying about like they own the place!’ Lucifer’s voice was loud and carried farther than he thought it would.  
  
‘Lucifer,’ Michael had his big brother voice out, hard and reprimanding, ‘Father put them there for a reason, trust that he knows what he’s doing.’ It was ironic that Michael was now the one giving Lucifer the same advice Lucifer had given him when he’d chosen Gabriel to lead the army.  
  
‘He’s gone too far! I won’t stand for it! I won’t see the planet destroyed by those filthy pink apes! I won’t!’ he sounded far too much like a petulant child but Lucifer was beyond caring. He already had many Angels on his side who thought as he did, he just wished he could convince Michael, if he could convince Michael then he would have no problem convincing Gabriel.  
  
Gabriel who he had yet to tell any of his thoughts. They’d grown distant in the recent months, having no time to spend together had put a strain on their relationship and every time Lucifer saw him, Gabriel was teaching the fledglings new tricks, **his** tricks. He wouldn’t have taught them to Gabriel if he’d known his brother would pass them on to others. It was supposed to be their secret alone.  
  
‘Really Lucifer, calm yourself before you end up doing someone harm,’ Michael held his hands out to Lucifer in an appeasing gesture, he hated fighting his brother but Father had told him that if he didn’t get a handle on Lucifer soon, well, it didn’t bear thinking about._  
  
  
Lucifer was bored. Arguing with Michael, poking and prodding at Sam’s soul, it all got boring eventually. He moved onto his third favourite pastime and turned to watch Adam. The boy cowered away from Lucifer’s glaring eyes and whimpered when his back encountered the hot stone wall. Lucifer revelled in how easy it was to scare the youngest Winchester, it never failed to amuse him. He was just about to lean forward to spread out his wings in a menacing manner when the cell went dark; it took him a moment to realise why. Sam’s soul was gone. Months that turned into years, dragging on in silence only broken up every now and then by Michael and Lucifer’s bickering, and finally something had changed.  
  
In the sudden darkness it took Lucifer a moment to adjust, something else had changed as well, Sam’s soul had gone (he’d recognise Death anywhere) but Adam was gone too. He doubted the younger Winchester had been resurrected; however, it seemed likely that Death – in an effort to give Lucifer a little payback – had decided to remove Adam from the cage and send him somewhere else. Michael watched him calmly from his corner and didn’t seem the least bit affected by the loss of the soul and Adam and that more than anything was what tipped Lucifer over the edge.  
  
With no one else to take his anger out on, Lucifer lunged at Michael. Michael felt he should have seen it coming, Lucifer would only stay passive for so long, he had been prepared to fight Lucifer for some time now. They scuffled for a moment, each trying to get the upper hand, fingers clawing at faces, pulling feathers, teeth bared in anger and pain. Lucifer managed to elbow Michael in the face, giving him a precious few seconds to get the upper hand. Lucifer pinned Michael to the floor and ignored the pained hiss as Michael’s wings were crushed underneath.  
  
‘Is this what you want brother?’ Lucifer leant down so that their noses touched. ‘Is this what you dreamt about before you pushed me?’ He didn’t wait for Michael to answer, instead he brought his mouth down to Michael’s and kissed him with all the fury and hurt he had.  
  
Michael kissed back. He didn’t mean to, or maybe he did. Lucifer was rough, biting hard enough to make Michael’s lip bleed and pressing in so close all Michael could see, hear and feel was Lucifer.  
  
Lucifer pulled back, licked Michael’s blood from his lips, and smirked in triumph down at his brother.  
  
‘Well?’ Lucifer finally asked, obviously wanting some kind of reaction from Michael.  
  
Michael hadn’t planned it, but when his knee made contact with Lucifer’s groin and Lucifer doubled up with pain, he thought that answered well enough. Using Lucifer’s pain as distraction, Michael pushed him away and stood up, stretching out his sore wings. Lucifer growled from his position curled up on the floor and glared angrily up at Michael.  
  
In a matter of seconds, they were fighting again, Lucifer having used his wings to propel himself at Michael and crash them both into the wall. Michael twisted away and grabbed at Lucifer’s left wing, hoping to cause enough pain so that Lucifer would cease fighting and making their situation worse. Lucifer spun around so fast that Michael lost his balance and head-butted the wall but he held onto Lucifer’s wing and in the sudden silence there was a loud popping sound and then Lucifer was howling in pain and backing away. Michael dazedly looked over at Lucifer, crouched over the other side of the cage, to see him cradling his left wing gingerly.  
  
  
 _Michael left his Father’s chambers with a sombre air; he’d just been given orders to stop Lucifer and his rebellion, to send his brother to Hell. It didn’t seem right, he loved Lucifer and he’d tried so hard to teach his younger brother the right things, ultimately he had failed._  
  
 _Lucifer wouldn’t be swayed from his rebellious thoughts and it had resulted in numerous yelling matches between him and Michael. Gabriel hadn’t been seen for some time and though Michael was sure he was just hiding because he didn’t want to have to choose between the brother he loved and the brother he respected, Michael was concerned for him._  
  
 _The battle to come wasn’t going to be like any of the battles Michael had lead before, this time it would be against their own, with Raphael at his side and an army behind him, Lucifer and his followers didn’t stand a chance but still lives would be lost. Michael had prayed, foolishly, that this day would never come but Lucifer had always been stubborn._  
  
 _They faced each other on the open field, the neutral ground where God had decreed the fight would take place._  
  
 _‘Please brother, don’t make me do this,’ Lucifer turned pleading eyes on Michael, ‘Join my side, you know it’s the right one, please,’ he reached out a hand tentatively._  
  
 _Michael drew his sword and swung it at Lucifer’s hand only missing because Lucifer’s reflexes were faster. The battle raged. Cries rang out from both sides as the angels charged into battle and Michael and Lucifer fought furiously in the centre. For a long time, the only sound to be heard was the clanging of blades on armour and the cries of the dying, flashes of brightest light indicating another lost brother. For many, it was their first battle; Michael only hoped it would be their last._  
  
 _It felt, to Michael, as if the fight lasted an eternity. He’d fought hard and without mercy until finally he had the upper hand. Lucifer on his knees at Michael’s feet looked up at his brother in defiance still. The sword at his throat meant nothing. They both knew he wasn’t going to die here._  
  
 _Michael looked out at his brothers and sisters, his family, and mourned the losses but also cheered that they had not lost more. He knew he was stalling; it was time to cast Lucifer out of Heaven finally, and send him to Hell._  
  
 _He took Lucifer at sword-point to the lookout cliff, the one place in Heaven where you can see everything. The vastness of space, the beauty of Earth and the desolation of Hell, this is where Lucifer would fall. Raphael once again stood steady at Michael’s shoulder, his presence a welcome one that gave him the strength to do what he had to do._  
  
 _‘Lucifer, you have rebelled against your Father, against your brothers and sisters, you have disgraced yourself and those you have taken down with you.’ Michael paused and watched the defiant stance Lucifer had taken at the cliffs’ edge._  
  
 _‘For your crimes you shall be banished from Heaven and left to rot in the darkest, deepest pits of Hell for all eternity,’ he sheathed his sword and took a step closer, hands resting on Lucifer’s shoulders, prepared to push, ‘I’m sorry.’ He whispered into Lucifer’s ear before shoving as hard as he could._  
  
 _For Lucifer, it was as if everything was suddenly in slow motion, his wings, tied to his back, strained to be free, to stop his Fall. His body twisted as he went over the edge and he found himself staring back up at Michael's stoic face and those of his siblings, battle weary yet triumphant. He wanted to stay strong, he really did but he couldn’t stop the scream when it came._  
  
 _He Fell._


	3. I Can Talk My Way Out of Anything

They’d come to a tentative truce not to fight again, it was likely they’d be stuck in the cage for many more years to come and neither of them fancied spending millennia yelling at each other and in pain. Lucifer was crouched awkwardly nursing his left wing and Michael curled up under Lucifer’s arm hoping to chase away the heat with the cold of Lucifer’s skin. This would usually be the part where Lucifer would push him away and growl at him to keep to his own side of the cage but he was tired and it felt nice to have someone touching him without the intention to hurt him.  
  
He and Gabriel had sat like this a lot back when they’d had the time, before the War and before the Humans arrived. Lucifer had missed this. He shifted slightly, keeping his wings tucked close and careful not to bump them and reignite the pain that he had mostly forgotten about. He lay down on his right side and gently, so slowly, pulled Michael towards him. The other Archangel, still slightly dazed from their fight, settled against Lucifer’s chest comfortably and closed his eyes, sighing in contentment.  
  
Nothing was turning out how Lucifer had imagined it. He had hoped that he would have been able to talk Michael out of fighting him; he wanted Michael to rule the Earth by his side and return it to its former glory. Michael had never really cared about the people anyway; he’d only cared that Father cared.   
  
‘You know, if you weren’t such a stubborn pain in the ass this never would have happened,’ Lucifer mused, putting an arm around Michael’s waist and resting his cheek against Michael’s hair.  
  
Michael snorted softly and when he spoke, Lucifer could hear the edge of a grin to his words. ‘I could say the exact same thing about you, brother,’ his wings fluffed up slightly and tickled Lucifer’s chin.  
  
‘I never thought you liked me much,’ Michael said after a few minutes of silence, his voice soft and contemplative. ‘You always spent so much more time with Gabriel after all,’  
  
‘I didn’t think I’d ever be able to have you, so I never tried, you were always too good for me,’ Lucifer replied just as softly.  
  
Lucifer thought if he’d just said something earlier, if he hadn’t let his fear of rejection get in the way, he could have had this when it mattered. He could have had Michael on his side when he needed him. But then he also would have missed everything he had had with Gabriel and he knew, even with everything that happened, if he could go back and do things again, he wouldn’t change it. On the other hand, maybe he would, maybe he could have had both of them but he knew there was no way of changing anything now.  
  
‘I killed Gabriel,’ Lucifer said suddenly, sounding shocked as if he’d only now just realised what he’d done.  
  
Michael remained silent, there wasn’t much of anything he could say to Lucifer besides “I know,” or “Yes you did,” or maybe even “do you regret it?” but he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to upset Lucifer, unsure of their new standing now that they had admitted their feelings and agreed not to fight.  
  
‘I never meant to,’ Lucifer continued, seemingly talking to himself as if he forgot Michael was there or didn’t expect him to say anything anyway. ‘He defended _them_ ’ Lucifer spat out suddenly angry. Michael wasn’t sure if by them, Lucifer meant humanity or the other gods.  
  
‘I never thought he’d turn on me, not Gabriel, never Gabriel, how is it I ruined the only good thing ever to happen to me?’ anger suddenly gone, Lucifer buried his face in Michael’s hair and pulled his brother as close as possible.  
  
Michael tried to comfort Lucifer; he laced their fingers together and squeezed softly. They’d both done things they regretted, they’d both lost family they loved, maybe things hadn’t ended up how they were supposed to and maybe Father was gone forever but he and Lucifer would escape the cage one day and when that time comes, they’ll do it together.  
  
‘I never stopped loving you,’ Michael whispered in the darkness, barely audible over the screams of the damned. ‘I loved you even when I hated you and I hated that you ignored me for Gabriel but what I hated most was thinking that Father was wrong, that you didn’t deserve Hell. I hated myself for not doing what I really wanted and instead doing what Father told me to do. You said it yourself; I was always the good little soldier. I don’t want to be that anymore.’  
  
Michael waited for some kind of response, something, anything, from Lucifer. He didn’t know what he expected but he knew what he wanted and this time he wasn’t going to settle for second best.  
  
Lucifer shifted, moving their intertwined hands to rest against Michael’s chest feeling his steady heartbeat. For a moment it was as if time stood still, the noises and smells of Hell faded away and all Michael could hear was, their breathing regular and in sync, the rustle of feathers and then three words that would begin the process of setting them free.  
  
‘I forgive you,’


End file.
